Barossa

Barossa's Table: Vintners Bar and Grill

3/26/2011 11:09:00 PM


Vintners Bar and Grill
Nuriootpa Road
PO Box 10
Angaston SA 5353
(08) 8564-2488

For my second night in the Barossa, Jaci from Tourism Barossa took me to Vintners Bar and Grill, a lovely little restaurant on the outskirts of Angaston.  (Located in the same spot as the Barossa Farmers Market!) It was rather quiet, being a Monday night, with only 3 tables occupied, including ours.  However, the wooden floors and exposed beams gave the space a warm and welcoming atmosphere.



VBG Dukkah, Dom's Olives and Olive Oil - $8
Interestingly, even though Vintners is a "bar and grill", the menu had a strong Asian influence, with items like Thai style crab salad, green mango, chilli, mint & betel leaves ($20); house smoked salmon, soba noodles, wakame & salmon caviar ($20); and Masterstock fried quail, bean shoot & celery salad ($16/$32).  Jaci suggested this may have been in response to the new restaurant fermentAsian in Tanunda, which serves modern Southeast Asian cuisine and has been incredibly popular!  (Unfortunately there was no time on my trip to try fermentAsian, so I will have to save that for another trip).

I have to say, I am generally a little wary of non-Asian restaurants attempting pan-Asian cuisine, but I was pleasantly surprised and rather impressed by the dishes at Vintners!
Steamed pork & ginger dumplings, chilli soy dipping sauce - $16

The steamed pork and ginger dumplings were well-made and tasty.  A little pricey at $16 for five (!), but understandable considering that there aren't heaps of Asian restaurants in the Barossa.

Sautéed scallops, dried shrimp & pork relish, steamed broccolini - $20
I ordered the scallops because I was very interested to try the shrimp and pork relish.  (I think it must be a pretty popular ingredient, as it was on the menu at 1918 too.)  The relish itself was like a mild, slightly-sweet sambal. Underneath the plump scallops was some lightly steamed broccolini - a great way to get some greens into a canapé-style dish!  

Jaci ordered the scallops for her main (and got 10 on her plate), whereas I decided to go for something a little more traditional, and ordered the chicken.

Local chicken, slow roasted heirloom tomato, vincotto & avocado puree - $32
Despite being breast meat, the chicken was tender and juicy.  The avocado and tomatoes provided a nice contrast of creamy richness and sharp acidity. 

Feeling quite full from the meal, (not to mention the day's activities), Jaci and I decided to share a stone fruit tart for dessert.  After our arvo at Gully Gardens, we were definitely in the mood for peaches!
Stone fruit tart, vanilla custard, whipped cream & raspberry juice - $14
The tart was beautifully presented, and contained a lovely smooth vanilla custard, but when we tasted the peaches, we couldn't help but think they were tinned.  If that were the case, it seems a bit of a shame, when the local fruit was so wonderful and abundant.

However, apart from that, I very much enjoyed the food, and had a great evening at Vintners.  I'd definitely recommend it for a pleasant meal in a relaxed atmosphere.

Vintners Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon

Sarah dined at Vintners Bar and Grill as a guest of Tourism Barossa, as part of the prize for winning the Barossa's Table competition.

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6 comments

  1. Maybe the peaches are cooked?

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  2. Hi Michelle,

    We also thought the peaches may have been cooked, but the more we ate, the more they seemed like the tinned type - just too soft and with that same colour/texture. Other than that though it was a great night!

    xox Sarah

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  3. yum those scallops look delicious. It's good to get 5 for an entree too, usually you get only 3 :(

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  4. Just to let you know the peaches are local and poached fresh at the restaurant in sugar syrup vanilla and a peach liquor

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  5. Hi Sarah, also forgot to mention , just to clarifi.... Vintners has been established in the Barossa for 14 years and always run with a stong Asian influence menu, same chef all of the 14 years too

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  6. Susan - you're right there! Nice generous portion!

    Peter - thanks for the info! We were too shy to ask on the evening! Aah, that also explains why the Asian-style dishes were so tasty!

    xox Sarah

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